"…watching and interacting with gamers who played our game for almost two hours, they clearly enjoyed the RPG experience that AP had to offer."

But are these all hard-core action gamers? Some companies seem to playtest using only themselves or, at best, other hard-core fans of the genre, most of whom are always wanting a bigger "challenge" (and all of whom find the controls familiar). Then they wonder why their game is only appealing to a small segment of the game-buying public.

If I were someone who actually wanted to sell a game, I'd make sure the playtesting included a wide variety of people. Sure, make the game challenging, because reviewers tend to be hard-core gamers, too, and you've got to keep them happy. But make sure it's playable - and enjoyable - even for people who don't spend their entire lives frantically pushing buttons.